A political battle over control of the Orleans Parish School Board exploded Wednesday, with President Ira Thomas saying that interim Superintendent Stan Smith is working without a contract. That could open the door for the board to vote on firing Smith, who said Thomas has already asked him to return to his previous job as chief financial officer and to do it "quickly."

The jockeying came as another system official, said to be Thomas' preferred choice for superintendent, confirmed that he was considering applying for the job. Board chief of
staff Armand Devezin said he is thinking about applying for superintendent but added, "I certainly haven't decided to
do that yet."

As has become a hallmark of the new School Board, which took office in January, arguments with system-changing import hinged on procedural issues and technicalities.

Can Smith be fired?

Smith's contract runs through October 2013, and the board voted in February to examine it, amend it if needed and then ratify it. At that meeting, Thomas argued successfully that the previous board had not signed off on a condition in the contract stating that Smith will return to his previous job as chief financial officer when a new superintendent comes in.

Thomas in February wanted to nullify the contract entirely but failed to win a majority for that idea. But four months later, the contract re-examination process still isn't done.

The review process was to involve Thomas, board Vice President Leslie Ellison and board attorney Ed Morris. Thomas and Smith discussed the contract in the spring, Smith said Wednesday, and the document is now in Ellison's hands. Smith said he thought his old contract was still valid in the interim.

"By not voiding the contract (in February) they in effect ratified it," Smith said Wednesday.

Thomas disagreed, saying Smith's contract "was nullified." He said the committee reviewing the contract was to come back with a recommendation for a new contract, and since that hasn't happened, Smith has no contract. Thomas, who has opposed Smith's promotion since last year, declined to comment on why the process was taking so long.

According to Smith, the revised contract would run through October 2014. The document would state that Smith will still have a job at the School Board once a new superintendent comes in -- at his CFO salary -- but it would be up to the new chief to decide what Smith's position would be.

Not resigning, but possibly stepping back

A church-led coalition called Justice and Beyond and the Alliance of Minority Contractors, led by Ernest Stalberte, have asked for Smith to resign from the superintendent post. Both groups said Smith sabotaged the city's disadvantaged business enterprise program, which aims to ensure a significant share of contracts go to minority-owned companies.

In a letter, Stalberte went as far as to accuse Smith of "intentional discrimination" in blocking timely payment to DBE contractors.

Thomas, however, denied Wednesday that he asked Smith to resign. Smith said Thomas instead asked him to return to his CFO post.

"I was not asked to resign. The discussion was about me stepping back into the CFO spot," Smith said.

Smith said he has always been willing to do that

when the board appoints a new superintendent, but he said Thomas expressed "a preference that I go ahead and do it quickly." Smith said he has asked for time to consider the request.

Smith said their conversation took place during a recent meeting with Thomas at which they also discussed letters from the two groups seeking Smith's resignation.

"We only talked about what was in the letter and what (the groups') concerns were and how he might respond to that," Thomas said.

An eye on Armand Devezin

The public discussion over the superintendent's job comes as Devezin confirmed that he may be interested in the post.

Devezin is a veteran of the district who taught at several schools before joining the central office in 1992, rising to chief of staff. He left in 2000 to work at Dillard University but eventually came back to the school district.

Thomas and School Board member Cynthia Cade, a Thomas ally, have repeatedly called on Devezin at recent board and committee meetings to represent the administration on policy matters.

Thomas, however, denied that he had his eye on Devezin for the superintendent job, saying he had not talked with him about the matter.

A small policy tweak could reveal whether Devezin is seriously interested in the position, or whether anyone else among the board's top executive staff may apply. When voting Tuesday on the composition of a committee to review applications from superintendent search firms, the board added a restriction: To ensure fairness, no member of the review panel can apply for the superintendent job.

The comittee will include three of the four members of Smith's executive team, as well as Smith and a community representative appointed by each of the members of the School Board.

Smith's executive team includes Devezin, Wayne DeLarge, Rosalynne Dennis and Kathleen Padian. Smith said he had favored choosing Dennis, Devezin and Padian for the committee. But Smith said "with the stipulation the board added last night, I would have to reach out individually" and see if any of the members of his executive team was interested in taking the superintendent job.

Devezin said that if Smith asked him to serve on the panel, "I don't see why I wouldn't."

The attorney general's opinion that isn't

Separately, Thomas has also withdrawn his request that the state attorney general decide whether it is legal for him to serve on the School Board while holding his day job as police chief at Southern University at New Orleans. That opinion could have threatened Smith's position on the board.

Attorney general spokeswoman Amanda Papillion Larkins confirmed Wednesday that Thomas had withdrawn a May request for an opinion on whether his job at SUNO violates the Louisiana dual office-holding law.If a dual office-holding case goes to court, penalties could include reimbursing the employer for compensation or being forced to leave the job or the elected office.

Thomas' June 12 withdrawal letter specified that he will resubmit the request after SUNO approves a new job description that would presumably include educational responsibilities that were not included in the previous job description. The change would be significant, because School Board officials are exempt from the dual office-holding law if their jobs include educational responsibilities.

The new SUNO job description was hastily put together without following standard procedures and has not been approved by Thomas' supervisor, an university spokesman has said.

The Orleans Parish School Board oversees only about one quarter of the city's schools; the state took over the rest after Hurricane Katrina because of their poor academic performance. However, the local School Board has taxation authority and owns all the school buildings. Takeover schools may vote to return to local control if they have made significant academic gains, and many members of the community say they want the schools back.